NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's volleyball program (15-12, 4-5) traveled to face the No. 2 team in the conference, St. Olaf (20-7, 7-2), on Friday evening. The Cardinals were downed 3-2 by the Oles in what was a back-and-forth affair.
SMU 2, STO 3
The start of set one went the Cardinals' way. Early kills from Maddie Baker and Kali Olson set the tone, as the Cardinals went ahead 5-2. The Cardinals were sharing the wealth early as the teams kept the score within one. Ava Berg and Brianna Hanneken got in on the action as the score was 11-all. Errors began to pile up for the Cardinals as they dug themselves into a hole they couldn't climb out of, falling 25-18.
Set two went the Cardinals' way; it was one of the most scrappy defenses of the season, with Baker making diving saves and assists, while Kinlee Grattan and Ayla Olson cleaned up the defense with a kill. The team hit .226 with 13 kills to take set two, 25-19.
The momentum carried over into a thriller of a third set. The Cardinals pushed ahead, 7-3 after a few errors and tough serving from Lindsey Rossow. They had their largest lead of the night, taking a 17-11 lead, aided by Hanneken and Kali Olson. Although the Oles pushed back after the Cardinals thought they had a large enough lead at 23-19, a few miscues put the Oles ahead 26-25 late. The Cardinals made the final push, capturing set three 28-26 after Kaia DePaolo had back-to-back kills to seal the set.
Energy faltered in set four as the Oles took the set handily, 25-14, forcing a decisive set five.
Heading into the fifth set, the Cardinals jumped ahead 7-4, capitalizing on the Oles' errors. It wasn't until the errors came back to get them as the Oles climbed back to 9-9.
Claire Rahman tried to spark a run with back-to-back service aces, but it was not enough as they fell 15-13 in the MIAC matchup.
Kali Olson led the way with 15 kills on the night while her sister Ayla Olson recorded another double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs. Grattan made 23 assists.
The team will stay on the road as they face the No. 1-ranked MIAC opponent, Bethel, tomorrow at 5 p.m.
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